Quantino electric car

After much deliberation, discussion and a spot of chair throwing, we can now reveal our favourite cars of the year. Whether you’re in the market for an everyday supercar, need to know what’s best for a big family or want a selfish sunday treat, we’re here to guide you in our celebration of 2016’s hottest metal. We’ve rounded up the best cars of the year across a number of categories, so to find out our selections - and the overall winner of TG magazine’s Best Car in the World 2016 - pick up a new issue today via the links below, or order your copy here. Elsewhere in the new issue, we take a look at Jaguar’s stunning new Tesla-baiting I-Pace electric SUV, and bring you a roundup of the wildest cars from this year’s SEMA show. Plus, we drive all the cars that matter, including the Shell Concept Car, Lotus Evora Sport 410, Honda Civic Sport, Toyota C-HR, Jaguar F-Type SVR, Caterham Seven Sprint, BMW M240i, … [Read more...] about The Best Cars in the World 2016: new TG mag out now!

What’s this funny-looking little thing? Say hello to Quantino. It’s the tiny, city car-sized sister to the Quant FE SportLimousine, the giant gullwing ultra-limo we’ve seen at recent Geneva motor shows. And the interesting bit isn’t the name, or the bizarre looks. It’s the zero carbon-footprint, zero-emission propulsion system, the brainchild of a company called nanoFlowcell, backed by a mysterious group of shareholders and business owners… So is this just an electric car? In propulsion terms, yes. The Quantino’s motor develops a modest 136bhp, making for a 125mph top speed and (supposedly) 0-62mph in five seconds. But if you like, this is an electric car that you never have to charge. Headache incoming… Here goes. The rear-drive Quentin…sorry, Quantino uses a flow cell to generate power on-board. Instead of plugging it into the wall for a couple of hours, you fill its twin 159-litre (!) … [Read more...] about Review: the nanoFlowcell-powered Quantino prototype

At last year’s Geneva show, an upstart company from Vaduz in the pocket principality of Liechtenstein made headlines by introducing a gigantic 5,100-lb electric “limousine” that could supposedly accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under 3 seconds and travel 360 miles on a “charge.” Best of all, it could recharge as quickly as refueling a gas car. Backing up these stats was a new (to the car world, anyway) redox-flow battery technology in which positively and negatively charged ionic fluids are carried onboard and pumped past a proton-exchange membrane to generate electricity. You can plug in and pump the fluids back past the membrane to slowly recharge, or you can simply replace the depleted juice with recharged stuff. I investigated the technology in my July 2014 Techologue column, and learned that the technical stumbling block was developing ionic fluids with high enough energy density. The Quant E-Sportlimousine was fitted with two 50-gallon tanks for 360 … [Read more...] about Liechtenstein-Based Carmaker Quant Brings Two Long-Range EVs to Geneva

Research company Nanoflowcell, which revealed two electric car concepts powered by liquid-battery technology last year, is in talks with a “large manufacturer that is not German” about putting the Quantino concept into production. The German/Swiss company’s technology boss, Nunzio La Vecchia, said the car could be rebranded and the technology could be licensed for other vehicles. “The car and the availability of refuelling could be a reality in four or five years’ time,” he said. According to Nanoflowcell, which has administrative headquarters in London, the technology used by the Quantino and Quant FE concept cars could eclipse all others in a future minimal-carbon world. It uses positively and negatively charged liquids, stored in separate tanks as ‘fuel’, to generate electricity. These non-hazardous, easy-to-manufacture and easy-to-store electrolytes can be dispensed to vehicles as painlessly as hydrocarbon fuels currently are, so … [Read more...] about Revolutionary Flowcell EV could make production

NanoFlowcell has unveiled a second concept car, the Quantino, at the Geneva motor show. According to the electric car manufacturer, the Quantino is the smaller sibling of the Quant F and is described as an "innovative electric vehicle with mass appeal". The 2+2 coupé, which measures 3.91m in length, uses flow cell battery storage technology derived from the Quant F. An ionic liquid is stored in two 175-litre tanks; one tank with a positive charge and the other with a negative charge. It provides power to a low-voltage drive system with four 25kW electric motors producing a total of 136bhp. NanoFlowcell claims a top speed of 124mph and an all-electric driving range of more than 620 miles. The battery-powered coupé features front and rear end styling similar to its Quant e-Sportslimousine and F siblings, and it sits on 22in alloy wheels. NanoFlowcell chief technical officer Nunzio La Vecchia said: "The Quantino is affordable and features an extravagant, unique … [Read more...] about NanoFlowcell Quantino unveiled at Geneva motor show

Car manufacturers are desperate for an alternative to the combustion engine, one that is sustainable, affordable and free of compromise. A Liechtenstein-based company called Nanoflowcell claims to have an answer: an electric car that can be filled up at the pump with non-flammable, non-toxic fluid and is said to deliver a range similar to that of conventional petrol or diesel cars. Nanoflowcell revealed its first concept car, the Quant E, at last year’s Geneva motor show. This year it returned with the Quant F and much smaller Quantino two-seater. All three cars are propelled by four wheel-mounted electric motors supplied with electricity from a flow cell battery. The flow cell concept is based on the Redox (reduction and oxidation) flow cell technology trialled by NASA in the early 1970s. Redox flow cells generate electricity when fed with two electrolytic fluids, one positively charged and one negatively charged, stored in separate tanks. The flow cell is split into two halves … [Read more...] about How to end EV range anxiety – Nanoflowcell’s tech explained

Electric car maker NanoFlowcell says its innovative flow cell-powered Quantino could make production this year, the car having successfully passed pre-production tests. NanoFlowcell will be displaying the near-finished model at the Geneva motor show in March, one year on from when the first Quantino concept was revealed. The firm says the 2016 car is completely revised, and that it is weighing up the option to produce a small-batch production run. The Quantino has grabbed industry attention because it is powered by flow cell technology, which enables it to travel farther than (a claimed) 600 miles on one fill. It is driven by four electric motors - one on each wheel - and uses two fuel tanks of electrolytic fluids, one positively charged and one negatively charged. The flow cell is split into two halves by a membrane, with positively charged electrolyte flowing through one side and negatively charged through the other. Ion exchange takes place through the membrane, generating an … [Read more...] about NanoFlowcell Quantino could make production this year

► 10 of the oddest cars from Geneva 2015The headlines at Geneva 2015 were dominated by supercars and surprise crossovers, but delve a little deeper and there were more than a few hidden gems. Check out the Top 10 leftfield designs that caught our eye on the Swiss show floor:It’s a Ferrari F12 underneath, but the Berlinetta Lusso’s clean, mildly retro bodywork is so much more elegant, don’t you think? It takes centre stage on Milan-based styling house Touring Superleggera’s stand (alongside the Mini Superleggera concept from spring 2014, still doing the motor show rounds) with a limited production run of five cars planned. Mechanically it’s unchanged from the F12, powered by the same 730bhp 6.3-litre V12 and with 0-60mph done with in around three seconds.German engineering outfit EDAG has a fine tradition of building oddball show cars to show what it can do, and its latest effort doesn’t disappoint. Its bodywork is formed of branch-like, … [Read more...] about The CAR Top 10: leftfield cars that caught our eye at Geneva 2015

already gone on record as saying it will show off its insanely powerful Quant F at the Geneva Motor Show next month. Now, the company says it will also have a concept version of an electric vehicle with a really long single-charge range. And really big wheels. Who knew they could go hand-in-hand?The Quantino uses the company's nanoFlowcell powertrain technology to create a "low voltage" EV that will combine 136 horsepower and a top speed of 125 miles per hour. More impressive still is the massive single-charge range – more than 600 miles – that Quant is touting.The vehicle, which Quant says will be a "reality" later this year, will carry two 46-gallon tanks of ionic fluid: one will have a positive charge, the other will have a negative charge. No, we don't know where you would refuel a car like this. Additionally, the car, which will be about 154 inches long (or about three inches shorter than a Toyota Prius C hybrid), will have 22-inch wheels for that ultra sporty look. … [Read more...] about Next up for Geneva, the Quantino EV

NanoFlowcell let someone outside the company drive one of its cars. The company, which has created some impressive concept EVs to showcase its saltwater batteries, allowed Autocar behind the wheel of its Quant FE and Quantino at a test track in Switzerland. The seat time confirms NanoFlowcell's technology (refuelable batteries powered by an electrolyte-filled liquid) works, and the company says it is in talks with an automaker to put the Quantino into production. While Autocar says the Quant FE "accelerates like a Tesla Model S on heavy stimulants," the Quantino "drives as a compact electric car should." Read more at Autocar, or at Green Car Reports.A Tesla Model S owner believes he caught a valet joyriding in his car by checking the data usage logs. Bob Wolin of Houston noticed the spike in energy consumption during the time the valet had the car, and estimates the driver drove up to 90 mph. Wolin has requested the complete data logs from Tesla in order to get a more complete picture … [Read more...] about Recharge Wrap-up: Autocar drives NanoFlowcell concepts, Tesla owner catches valet’s joyride